


you cleaned my wounds and stole my heart

by RinChanSanMatsuoka



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Never Met, Awkward Matsuoka Rin, Awkwardness, Cats, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 09:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7217830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/pseuds/RinChanSanMatsuoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When shelter volunteer Tachibana cleans the cat scratches on Rin's arms, Rin finds himself enamored with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you cleaned my wounds and stole my heart

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a follower on Twitter! They wanted Makorin + animal shelters, either with one of them working there or them going to adopt a cat. I went with the first one!

Rin hissed, sounding a lot like the black cat that was squirming and digging her claws into his arms.  The walk from his apartment to the shelter was short but his arms were already scratched to hell and back.  It would be awhile before he could swim again without feeling the sting of chlorine.

Thankfully, as Rin turned the corner, the shelter came into view.  Hoisting the cat up a bit and wincing as claws dug into his arm again, he picked up his pace.  “Look,” he said, addressing the cat, “I don’t like this any more than you do but you know my landlady said you couldn’t hang around anymore.”

Pushing the door of the shelter open with his hip, Rin glanced around, looking for someone to help him.  He saw someone coming out of the back and he hurried over to him, eager to turn the cat over to the safety of the shelter and spare his arms from any more damage.

“Excuse me, I want to, uh, drop a cat off, I guess?”  Unsure of what to say, Rin held the cat up slightly, showing her off to the volunteer.  He barely got a look at the man before the cat squirmed again and he had to hold her close to prevent an escape.

“Oh, of course, I’ll…”  The man trailed off, eyes widening as he stared at Rin’s arms.  “Oh my god, your arms!  I’ll get a first aid kit, wait here!”  With that, he was turning around again and darting through the door leading into the back.

Rin stood there awkwardly, trying to keep the cat from escaping his grasp.  Thankfully he returned quickly, first aid kit in hand.

“You can put the cat in here,” he said, opening one of the cages along the wall.  “Then let me clean your arms.  It looks like it really hurts!”

Surprised by how much the man was fussing over him, Rin felt his cheeks heat up as he put the cat into the cage.  Shaking out his arms, he winced, looking down at the deep red scratches on them.  With a frown, he turned to the other man and held out his arms.  “Thanks for this, I guess.”

“Oh, it’s no problem!  But it’s better to get it cleaned quickly, you know.”  The man gently took one of Rin’s arms in his hand, rubbing disinfectant over the cuts.

Rin grit his teeth as he watched, finally able to really get a good look at the man.  His brown hair was short and messy, as though he were constantly running his hands through it.  Those green eyes were friendly, crinkled in the corners as he smiled.

“I’m Matsuoka,” he said, wondering why he said that once the words left his mouth.  It wasn’t really important, right?  It’s not like he’d see this guy again.  “Ah, Matsuoka Rin.”

The man looked up as he started cleaning Rin’s other arm, giving him a smile.  “Tachibana Makoto.  Can I ask why you’re giving up your cat?”

“Oh, she’s not mine.  Not really, anyway.  She’s a stray that kept hanging around our apartment so my landlady said she has to go, so I brought her here.  She didn’t like the trip, I guess,” he joked, grinning a bit at Tachibana.  “I just hope she can find a good home.”

Smiling, Tachibana moved on to bandaging Rin’s arms, making sure all of the scratches were covered.  “I’m sure she’ll find a good home,” he said, his smile widening.  “She probably didn’t want to leave you.  If you want, you can visit her until she’s adopted.”

“Are you sure?  I don’t want it to cause any problems.”  There was also the fact that Rin wasn’t sure he could handle seeing her get adopted if he kept visiting her.

Tachibana straightened up, throwing away the bandage wrappers before washing his hands in a sink by the cages.  “It shouldn’t be a problem, but it is up to you.”

Rin watched him for a moment before looking back at the cat.  “I… suppose I can come visit her.  Just to see how she’s doing.”  That and a part of him definitely wouldn’t mind seeing more of Tachibana and his gentle smiles.

The smile that lit up Tachibana’s face could only be described as blinding.  “I’m sure it’ll make you happy!  Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her.”

“Yeah, um, so I guess I’ll see you later?”  Rin shifted his gaze to the floor, unable to keep looking at that smile.

“Of course, Matsuoka-san.  We’ll look forward to seeing you again!”

There was no way Tachibana could be that nice, Rin thought as he left the shelter.

* * *

It turned out that Tachibana really could be that nice.  Rin managed to visit a few times between his busy university schedule and swim practice.  He found himself focusing more and more on Tachibana rather than on Kuro, as the shelter volunteer had so helpfully named her.

Rin learned that Tachibana actually went to his university, that he had two younger siblings and that he’d always wanted to help animals.  He learned that Tachibana was kind to everyone and patient with even the most difficult people.  After a few weeks, he learned that Tachibana really preferred being called Makoto and Rin was all too happy to oblige.

As time had gone on, Rin had found himself falling for Makoto, wanting to see more of his smiles, to learn more about him, to just be _around_ him more.  A part of him wished that Kuro wouldn’t get adopted, so he would continue to have an excuse to visit.

So, when Makoto greeted him one day and told him Kuro had been adopted, Rin felt his heart sink.  Staring at Makoto, he tried to figure out what to say but all that came out was a soft “Oh.”

“I know how much you liked visiting her,” Makoto said quietly, smiling at Rin.  “Which is why um… well, I adopted her.”

Rin felt his eyes widen, thinking that he must have misheard him.  “You… adopted her?”

Makoto’s smile only widened.  “I did.  I thought this way, you could still visit her.  And visit me, when I’m not at work.”  His voice quieted as he said that, looking at Rin nervously.

A flush rose on Rin’s cheeks and he shifted his gaze to the floor.  “You really want to see me again?”

“I do.  I really got to like you, Rin.  I’d miss you.” 

Sneaking a quick glance at Makoto, Rin saw that his face was open and honest and he felt his chest squeeze.  _Cute._   “I… I’d like that a lot,” he said, giving Makoto a nervous smile.  “I’d miss you too.  And Kuro, of course.”

“Of course,” Makoto said, laughter lacing his words.  With a bright smile, he gave Rin a quick hug before pulling away.  “I should get back to work but do you want to get dinner when I get off?”

Rin was sure his heart must have skipped a beat at the hug and he knew his face was bright red.  “Yeah, of course!  I, um, I’ll pick you up?”  Rubbing the back of his neck, trying to play off how happy he was, Rin watched Makoto nervously.

“I’d love that.  I’ll see you then, Rin.”  Giving Rin one last smile, Makoto turned and headed into the back of the shelter.

Feeling like a swarm of butterflies had taken up residence in his stomach, Rin left the shelter, fist pumping giddily.


End file.
